The King at Twilight
by Szabotage
Summary: Gyousou thinks back on happier days. Some spoilers. New chapter! Meanwhile, back in Tai...
1. Twilight

The King at Twilight

By Maria Szabo

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, and the only profit being made is that of enjoyment.

"_Gyousou-sama?" his eyes were wide and innocent. "Is this Tai? Is this our land?"_

"_This is our kingdom." He lifted the boy, light as a feather, off of his suuga, and set him on the ground. "So, Kouri, what do you think of it?"_

_By the Gods, I am so weary of fighting_, he thought, as he sought refuge from the chill evening that was falling upon the mountains between Bun and Zui provinces. An abandoned hut gave him some respite from the wind, which held a bite of winter. It barely qualified as a building anymore, but there was no youma infestation and it would serve as adequate shelter for tonight. He knew it would not be long before he'd have to return to one of the cities, and live in hiding there. He was strong, but the land was stronger, and he was no fool. Fate had damaged his pride, but not erased it completely.

Seven years, it had been, seven long years, since he had set out from Kouki, the capital of Tai. Another rebellion in Bun Province, that was what had called him away. He'd expected it. Tai had been too long without a ruler, and now that the gods had seen fit to provide one, there were those that were hesitant to set down the power they'd grasped during the interregnum.

Gyousou, King of Tai, had foreseen the treachery of his subordinates, but he'd miscalculated his ability to prevent their actions. Give him a sword and he'd fight all day and night, but he'd not realized how difficult it would be to protect his Kirin. He'd never had anyone or anything so precious to him, and when that was taken away…

He'd avoided capture in the first ambush, but his troops had been devastated. The battle had turned into a mad cluster when the soldiers loyal to the traitor turned in the midst of battle. And then the news that Taiki had been killed…he refused to believe it, but Asen himself had presented the horn as evidence, in the hellish parlay where he'd learned how deep the conspiracy had gone. His closest comrades, his oldest friends, the ones he thought believed in his crusade—they were the ones who had done this to him. And to Tai.

But Asen was lying about Taiki. _I would know. I would know_. It had become a mantra for him. He would not surrender. Surrender meant death, and the land of Tai needed its King alive. What kind of idiot did they take him for? If Taiki were dead, he too would fall within a few months. But the years had passed and he was still alive. Barely.

And Taiki? No one knew. He was not in Tai, of that Gyousou was certain. He'd searched the length and breadth of the land. All he knew was that the boy was not dead.

No fire. It would be seen. Gyousou took off his ragged cloak and shook off the dust, and then wrapped it back around himself carefully. He settled on the floor of the hut, in the corner, the furthest away from the doorway which had long ago lost its door. Outside, twilight settled into the valley and he let himself fall into dreams of a happier time.

"_Gyousou-sama?" his eyes were wide and innocent. "Is this Tai? Is this our land?"_

"_This is our kingdom." He lifted the boy, light as a feather, off of his suuga, and set him on the ground. "So, Kouri, what do you think of it?"_

_Taiki did not answer at once, but turned in a circle and solemnly surveyed the land around him. "There's a lot to do."_

"_Yes."_

"_I don't know if I'm…" the kirin stopped himself and then turned his face up to his king, his small face set in determination. "Let's do our best."_

_He ruffled the boy's hair, from the back. "Absolutely."_

FIN


	2. My Fire

The King at Twilight

Chapter Two

By Maria Szabo

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, and the only profit being made is that of enjoyment.

The Kirin of Tai stood just outside the doorway, as things were settled around him. The Court of Kei was in chaos, and he didn't want to be in the way, so he stepped aside to let his hosts and rescuers settle their affairs while he watched from a slight distance, bemused. Once again, he had a nagging feeling that the trouble had been his fault.

It had all happened so quickly. One moment he was home, and the next moment he was…but wait. That first place wasn't home, was it? That was the other place, full of vague longings and the kind of memories that would only appear in the middle of the night when he awoke in a cold sweat, choking on the taste of blood, grabbing at his forehead and gasping out his pain.

But here, this was not home either. This was the Kingdom of Kei, where he had been brought to meet the Queen, and where they had been attacked by insurgents from her own kingdom, in a scene eerily familiar to that horrible day so many years ago in Tai. But she had weathered the crises, and now she stood being scolded by her Kirin, in what for him was an unusual outburst of emotion.

Taiki would have been amused, if he weren't so tired.

This palace was not his palace, this ruler was not his ruler, this kingdom was not his domain. He leaned against one of the great marble pillars and pressed his heated forehead against the cool stone. It had been so long, but he still remembered the palace at capitol of Tai, with its gaudy magnificence that stood in such contrast to Tai's stark, mountainous landscape. And he remembered his King, so confident and sure, not giving an inch, so different from this Queen of Kei who questioned herself and compromised, who was no older than he was himself, who didn't have the fire in her that he had remembered seeing in the eyes of Saku Gyousou, when the general had knelt to offer incense in the great Hall on that hot summer day atop the Holy Mountain.

Yet here she stood, he thought. Alive. Keiki had chosen well. As Taiki himself had chosen Gyousou-sama. Surely, then…

He pushed himself away from the pillar, his body screaming protest with each movement. He was weak, and frightened, too, but that didn't matter. If there was a chance, he would take it.

"My King would never falter," he whispered the words to himself, like a prayer. "Let my heart be like his."

Taking a deep breath, he walked into the room. There was work to do.

To be continued


	3. Creed

The King at Twilight

Chapter Three

By Maria Szabo

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, and the only profit being made is that of enjoyment.

Asen of Tai believed himself to be a righteous man.

Yes, he was the one who had turned against the King, who had once loved him like a brother. His was the hand that had slain the Black Kirin and taken the little one's horn. It was his troops that rose in mutiny during the King's disastrous campaign in the province of Bai, and he united the coalition of officers who presently helped him rule.

That was, he thought, the way it should be.

Tai had been that way for many years, after the former King had fallen. There was as yet no new Kirin. Asen took it to be a sign from the gods, that he had acted correctly. It had taken a while to subdue the loyalist troops, even after he had shown them the Kirin's horn, even after the news of the Massacre at Bai trickled into the capitol. The youma still roamed the countryside, and crops were sparse, but the common folk were used to that by now. Life in Tai was not easy. Tai had never been a prosperous country.

It was a bit much to expect it to be more than it was. That was where the former King had made his mistake.

Gyousou had always been proud, but when the choice of the Kirin fell upon him, he became insufferable. He seemed to burn with a new fire, blazing from his scarlet eyes, and spoke of a vision for the kingdom, of such prosperity that had not been seen since the beginning of days. He moved with the force of a whirlwind, pushing all before him. He spoke of cleansing, and a new beginning, and other such nonsense. It was as if the mantle of kingship had turned him into a fool.

Asen had watched in wonder as Gyousou had forced changes upon the kingdom, barely taking time to rest once the crown had been set upon his head. One by one, the old guard began to be replaced, sometimes easily, but more often by violent means. Ministers he had known and worked with for decades were suddenly no longer in power. And the profitable relationships he had struggled so long to build were crumbling around him.

He was not the only one in this predicament. Asen knew many others who had benefited during the interregnum. He also knew that the time would come when the trail of profit would lead to him, and all would be lost.

It was then that he decided to slay the Black Kirin.

Of all his actions, he regretted this one the most. Taiki had been very young, and amiable, and it was a pity that he needed to die. If the creature could have only been willing to cooperate…but that would not have happened. It was devoted to the King, in a wholehearted, selfless manner that was almost touching to see.

He still remembered clearly the day that he had taken the Kirin's horn. The King had left on his final campaign and the youngster had gone with him willingly into the garden, for he had a trusting nature. And there, amidst the late-summer blooms, Asen had taken hold of him and raised his sword and…

There was screaming, and blood, and thunder, and light. Taiki was gone, and he held a horn, tinged with scarlet, warm to the touch, in the empty, wind-swept garden.

Things had moved quickly from that point. The troops mutinied at Bai, the King disappeared during the Massacre, and in the chaos that followed, Asen had emerged as the General of Generals, for the gods had long ago decreed there could be no new King without a Kirin.

Asen thought it a foolish law. Had he not ruled in Tai longer than the anointed King? Was it not fit that men should make their own rulers, and not be subject to the capricious whims of the unseen celestials? The common folk may be comforted by such thoughts, but he knew better. He had made his own fate.

And if, at night, he suffered from dreams of screams, and light, and thunder, and blazing scarlet eyes, he dismissed them by the light of day. For he was a righteous man.


End file.
